


for all the boys i've dreamed of - jeno

by neogotmyheart



Series: for all the boys i've dreamed of [4]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Inspired by To All The Boys I've Loved Before, Mutual Pining, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-06 02:31:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19053445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neogotmyheart/pseuds/neogotmyheart
Summary: i know nothing about soccer so sorry for any inaccuracies





	for all the boys i've dreamed of - jeno

Jeno wouldn’t necessarily be what people expected. As the captain of the soccer team, one might expect him to have plenty of friends with some stunning girlfriend that he had been dating for years. Unfortunately for Jeno, this wasn’t a typical teenage film. He had his two friends that were always busy and a complete and total inability to flirt with girls he thought were pretty. 

Whatever time wasn’t spent at the soccer field or in practice was spent alone at his house. He was an only child and things got pretty lonely pretty easily. His mom was a nurse and would be at the hospital until late every night and his dad had left a few years back without a word from him since. He had gotten used to being by himself. Things had been this way for a while now. At least all the alone time he had meant that he was able to do his homework and keep his grades up with minimal distractions.

Jeno finished working on his last few math problems when his mom came through the door, smilingly brightly. “I just checked the mail and it looks like you have a letter!”

“You’re home early.” He acknowledged, grabbing the letter from her. It was covered in small hearts and flower designs drawn neatly around his address in the center.

“I went in early. I can go back if you want.” His mom answered sarcastically. 

He smiled at her, shaking his head. “I made mac and cheese. There’s some still in the pot if you’re hungry.”

She kissed his forehead before grabbing a bowl from the counter. “I am. Thank you, honey.”

Jeno turned his attention back to the letter. It had no return address on it or any sign of who it was from on the outside. Weird. He opened the envelope just to find that the folded paper inside was dated years ago. His eyes jumped to the signature at the bottom. Your name was written is curly, cursive writing. Shaking his head to make sure it was real, he brought the page closer to his face, eyes scanning over each line intently. You had feelings for him at one point in time. Of course, that was in seventh grade and things had changed tremendously. He hadn’t really seen you or talked to you since getting to high school, but to say he had a crush on you then would be an understatement. It would also be foolish to think he didn’t still harbor any sort of fond feelings towards you. He would see you in the hallway and his heart would skip when you smiled at him, reminding him of all the memories you had a couple of years ago.

The two of you had met because your brother, Jisung, was in club soccer. He was in the same club as Jeno and just so happened to have practice at right after Jeno’s team. Jeno would come up in the stands and wait for his ride and eventually, you came and talked to him. You were so bright and welcoming and were so positive at an age where it seemed like everyone hated the world. You introduced him to Renjun while he introduced you to Donghyuck. For the next three years, the four of you would become inseparable. He was thankful that even with your constant time with the group, you still had your alone time after practices. Your mom started driving him home after soccer and he had no problem spending the hour and a half in the back of the stands just talking to you. 

Ever since getting to high school, the group split and went separate ways. You were the only one not involved in anything. Renjun picked up art and set design. Hyuck had joined the drama club, and Jeno made varsity soccer his freshman year. No one seemed to have time anymore. It was pretty safe to assume you had completely grown apart seeing as it was now senior year and you had barely talked. Jeno’s breath still caught in his throat when he saw you, though. Your hair still shone under the lights and your eyes still sparkled when you smiled. You still had a hold of his heart. Some way, somehow. He didn’t particularly mind though. 

He only seemed to mind when Jaemin had developed feelings for you when you were lab partners sophomore year. He told him all the things he already knew about you in addition to some that he wish he knew. It was a weird conversation to have when that summer, Jeno confessed that he still had feelings for you. Jaemin had since backed off and said that nothing was worth any sort of tension that might be caused, no matter how long ago Jeno had spoken to you.

“Jeno, sometimes feelings don’t fade because they’re not supposed to,” Jaemin said earnestly.

Jeno laughed in response, shaking his head and ignoring the hope that had bloomed from that single sentence. “You sound like some old lady giving advice I didn’t ask for.”

Ever since then, he had tried to take his mind off of you and it worked. Until he would see you in the hallway or Renjun would mention something funny you said or he would drive past your house on the way home. He hadn’t really stopped being affected by you at all. Now, he had this letter with a date that was far too long ago for his heart to be beating so sporadically. 

“What was in the envelope?” His mom pulled him out of his trip down memory road and she looked at him.

He shook his head slightly, drawing him back to the present. “Oh, nothing. A friend just wanting to reach out and start a pen pal thing.”

She smiled. “That’s cute.”

He nodded before standing up. He could tell his mother was tired from the way she slouched in her seat and he didn’t want her to feel forced to carry a conversation with how long of a shift she had today. They said their goodnights before he walked up to his room, dialing his best friend’s number on the way. “Hey, Jaems.”

“What’s up?” He answered, mouth full of food.

Jeno rolled his eyes. The boy was practically the face of the school, but behind closed doors, he lacked manners and poise. It was funny to listen to people fawn over Jaemin when he knew all of his grossest habits. “So I got this letter today.” He flipped the envelope between his fingers, staring at the front once again.

“Wait. Is it from ___?”

Jeno froze. “How did you know?”

“Is it almost like a confession letter?” Jaemin asked. Jeno could hear rustling through the receiver signaling that Jaemin was looking for something.

“Yeah… Did you go through my mail?” The envelope wasn’t opened beforehand and there was no return address meaning one thing.

“No. I just also got one. Hyuck did, too.”

Jeno sighed. Of course, he would get his hopes up just to find out that once again, he was nothing special. “Wow, way to kill my chipper mood.”

“Hyuck’s was from like fifth grade or something. Is yours recent?”

“No. Seventh grade by the looks of the date.” It was stupid of him to get his hopes up in the first place with how long ago it was dated, but he couldn’t help it.

“Oh,” Jaemin said simply. Jeno assumed it had to do with how recent his letter was. He ignored the twisting of his stomach.

He remembered the way he would talk about you after your shared class together. “Yours is from sophomore year, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but we haven’t talked since so I doubt she still likes me.” He said in an attempt to reassure him. 

Regardless of the dates on the letters, the whole situation felt weird. He hadn’t talked to you in a few months but that didn’t change the fact that he really couldn’t see you ever doing something like this. While you were outgoing and bright, you kept a lot of emotions to yourself. Renjun only knew how you felt because the two of you practically shared a brain. “I don’t think she sent these out.”

“Me either. It feels like an accident. We should find a way to give them back to her.”

Jeno dropped on his bed. “Will that not embarrass her?”

Another mouth full of food. “I don’t know. Doesn’t feel right hiding it though. Who knows how many are out there. Someone’s bound to bring theirs back and she’ll figure it out from there.”

He looked at the letter once again. He could tell you were pouring out every little thought onto the paper. You thought he was kind and funny and warm. They weren’t compliments he received often and part of him wished you still thought these things, even with all the time apart. “Well, I’m gonna go. Will you tell Hyuck to give his letter back tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you in the morning.”

* * *

Morning came much too soon and it was like fate was playing her cards against Jeno. As soon as he walked in the door, he bumped right into you.

“I’m so sor-, Jeno! Hey!” You smiled at him and it was as bright as ever. He loved the way your hair caught the light as you pushed it behind your ears. Your eyes gleamed and your smile was literally contagious. He couldn’t help but lift the corners of his mouth to match his expression to your own.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, looking anywhere but your eyes as heat rushed to his ears. He resisted the urge to cover the now probably red tips. “I was actually hoping to run into you. Well, not literally into you.” He stammered. “You know what I mean.”

You laughed and it set his heart on fire. Silly of him to think he could move past this. Downright stupid of him to still feel this way after so long. You started walking off. “Do you need to stop at your locker? I know it’s before mine.”

He shook his head before reaching for the letter, handing it to you when you reached your locker. “I don’t think I was supposed to get this.”

You stood staring at the envelope before reaching out slowly, taking it from him. Your eyes widened as you found that the letter had been opened. When you finally spoke, your voice came out so small, Jeno could barely hear you. “Where did you get this?”

“The mail. I figured it was an accident.”

You rubbed your forehead, still unable to look up from the decorated paper. “Have you talked to Jaemin and Donghyuck?”   
He nodded and you understood. You sank against the wall of lockers, resting your head on the cool metal. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Really. I’m sorry you got this.”

Before he could respond, you had already taken off towards your class. It wasn’t exactly how he wanted your conversation to go. He didn’t know why he expected any different though. You had just handed an embarrassing letter to her and confirmed that the rest of her embarrassing letters were already floating around. It would probably be best to give her some time to think. 

During class, he did his best to push all the case scenarios of things turning out okay to the back of his head. The fact of the matter was that his chances were ruined. It didn’t matter that it was a letter from seventh grade. She may not ever talk to him again just to spare herself the trouble of an explanation.

When he went to lunch, he was disappointed to see that while Jaemin was handing back the letter, the two of you were able to make polite conversation. You even appeared to be laughing. He dropped his head on the table, the loud thud drawing Donghyuck’s attention to him. 

“What’s so upsetting it’s worth getting a concussion over.”

“___,” Jeno mumbled and though it was barely audible, Donghyuck seemed to understand immediately.

“You can’t be serious.” He stared at him in disapproval.

Jeno lifted his head up, setting his chin on the cold surface. “What do you want me to say? I finally got over her and that letter did nothing?”

“I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”

“Then don’t say anything. I don’t need your judgment.” Hyuck liked to tease and unfortunately, Jeno was just feeling a little defeated right now. 

He had one more period until he could go to soccer and run out all of his pent up confusion. He just had to make it through history which, if he were honest, he could sleep through and has before. The only problem was that he was still on edge, jumpy from the rejection that had probably been in the works for years. 

Why couldn’t he be like Jaemin? The boy could talk his way out of anything and apparently also eliminate valid feelings of embarrassment. When he talked to you, you didn’t even seem fazed by the letter. Maybe he was just cursed by being the initial bearer of bad news. 

Jeno practically sprinted out of the classroom when the bell rang and dismissed them for soccer. It was his last class of the day and lucky for him, it was practice tonight. He got to have almost three straight hours of doing nothing but driving his foot as hard as he could into the side of the ball. It was sloppy, unnecessary, and selfish. It would undoubtedly get him chewed out in no time, but he needed it.

The very first time he had possession of the ball during match play, it was launched onto the other side of the field. 

“Jeno! That shot was to no one! What do you think you’re doing?” His coach yelled angrily from the sidelines. Jeno gave him a small wave before jogging to catch up with the rest of the group. The rest of the mock game was filled with slightly more strategy but it allowed him to think about something besides you. 

Jeno had always been better at offense. He was able to process his surroundings quickly while also always being aware of his teammates and their locations. He knew each person’s strengths and how to get them in the position they needed to be in. He could turn the defense into nothing more than pawns if he were just able to get ahold of the ball. When one of the defensive players tripped him, it was almost like Jeno had entered an alternate reality. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had tripped him up when he had possession. He had fallen plenty as a defensive player either due to sacrifice or a failed attempt at recovery. On offense, however, Jeno was on touchable. 

The clouds passed by overhead as he watched, unable to fully process what had just happened to him. It wasn’t until Coach Nakamoto ran over, pulling the boy up did he realize he had messed up.

“Get out of your head, Lee. We have a game on Saturday. What’s your problem?” He asked him, searching his eyes for some sort of answer. Behind the angry front, he could tell his coach was concerned. The practice had made a fool out of him in every way imaginable. He hogged the ball, launched it into Timbuktu, and managed to get tripped by one of the underclassmen on JV. He was supposed to be the captain and he was performing like an amateur.

When they were dismissed to the locker rooms, Coach Nakamoto asked that the upperclassman wait for him when they were finished. After showering and getting changed, Jeno waited patiently on the bench. His friend and the goalie, Felix, a transfer student, walked up and sat next to him.

“Are you feeling alright? You looked crazy out there.” He said, eyebrows knit with concern.

Jeno ran a hand through his wet hair, letting the water catch on his fingers. “Yeah. Just a weird day.”

When the coach walked in, he had his clipboard with plays and positions and a schedule, but he also had a folder. “Alright, boys. I want to try something new this year. Our fall season starts on Saturday and I want to help out a few of our new kids. This year we have the most underclassmen on varsity than we’ve had in a while. It’s an even split between the two groups. Me and your other coaches thought it would be best to implement a mentor program. Each of you will be partnered with an underclassman that I want you to be with on our off days. We have practice twice a week so you should be meeting with your mentee twice a week. I’ll exclude Fridays.”

Jeno looked around. Everyone seemed to be pretty excited for the idea and everyone had an idea of who they wanted. 

Nakamoto continued. “I’ve picked the pairings based on position, age, potential, you name it.” He opened his folder, pulling out the list of names. “Let’s start with our captain, shall we?”

Jeno stood up, walking forward.

He was handed a paper filled with all the boy’s information as the coach read it out. “Jisung. Forward. Best freshman on the team if not one of the best players period.”

“But that’s-” Jisung was your brother. Spending time with him twice a week would mean seeing you twice a week.

His coach looked at him. “Our future captain? Yes, correct. You’re dismissed. We’ll see you tomorrow, sunshine. Get your head on straight before you get back on that field.”

Jeno nodded at him before walking out to his car. He rested his head on the steering wheel. What was he going to do now? You couldn’t even look at him and now he had to be at your house once a week. Not only that, Jisung had to be the quietest boy on the team. He only talked to one other person and stuck to himself all other times. This is the boy coach wanted to be captain. He chose Jeno to help make him captain material.

The drive home was filled with wandering thoughts about what he would do as a mentor and what he was even supposed to say. If he took you out of the equation, he still had a rather large obstacle to overcome. Jeno wasn’t great at small talk. Far from it actually. It was why he liked spending time with you. You were always able to fill empty spaces in the conversation. Eventually, Jeno became comfortable enough with you that his cocktail party conversation skills didn’t matter. No more asking about the weather when he was standing outside. No more asking if you were enjoying the food before you even had any. He was able to just talk. He hoped that it would still be that way

When the next afternoon rolled around, Jeno found himself in front of your house. He stared at your car in the driveway for what was probably way too long before urging himself to get out. He walked up to your front door, forcing himself to take deep breaths before knocking on the painted wood. 

You opened the door, talking the second the door was cracked. “Renjun, I don’t know why you still knock when-, oh.”

“Hey,” Jeno spoke, unsure of what even to say.

“I wasn’t expecting you.” You admitted, eyes wide.   
Jeno checked his phone. He had no messages from Jisung despite telling him he was on his way. “Did Jisung not tell you I was coming over?”

“We aren’t exactly talking right now.” You scratched your head. “Did he not tell  _ you  _ that he has community service on off days?”

“No.” He answered and the two of you looked at each other for a second. It was awkward. There was no way in the world you didn’t think he was awkward. He had been here for five seconds and already embarrassed himself again.

“Best communicator in the family.” You sighed sarcastically. “Come in.”

He walked in, making his way straight for the set of bar stools in the kitchen. It was where the two of you used to always hang out and he missed it. It was the place he would probably feel the most comfortable. He could easily just pretend like this was middle school all over again. He looked onto the kitchen island and found a ton of ingredients laid out. “Are you baking?”

“Yeah. The daycare Jisung volunteers at is having a bake sale. He said he couldn’t make them himself because he was too busy.”

“So he can’t bake is what you’re really saying.”

“Oh no. He can’t bake at all.” You laughed, seeming to have remembered a previous disaster that happened right in this very kitchen. As your laughter died down, you looked at Jeno and his breath caught in his throat. “I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“What about it?”

You shrugged, walking over to the island. “I was kinda rude to you. You handed me my letter and I just ran off.”

“I mean I probably would have rn off too. Maybe even cried.” Jeno tried to lighten the mood a little bit with his comment. 

You let out a soft laugh. “Everyone else that talked to me got a pleasant version. I think I was in shock with you because I didn’t even realize the letters were gone.”

“Sorry I just kind of broke it to you the way I did.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. Now let me make it up to you by making these cookies and letting you have one.”

“Only one?” He asked, eyebrow raised,

You nodded, appearing to be thinking. “Okay, what about one dozen?”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “That was a big jump there, I was just thinking two, maybe three.”

“I mean if you insist. I was trying to be generous because of all the trouble I caused.” You cracked a few eggs, emptying them into the bowl. Jeno watched as you mixed in the rest of the ingredients. Eventually, you started talking about what all had happened since the last time you two had really hung out. It genuinely felt like you had never even been away from each other. Things had slipped back into their old habits so easily and Jeno wondered why he was ever nervous in the first place. 

When you popped the cookies into the oven, you moved to sit back down next to Jeno. “Jisung should be here in an hour or so. I should have told you it would take so long.”

“I don’t mind. I missed you.” Jeno said honestly and surprisingly easy.

You looked at him for a second too long. “I missed you too, Jeno. We should do this more.”

“What if I just come straight after school on my off days? I know Jisung has community service but we could always just hang out.” He suggested.

You drummed your fingers on the countertop. It was one of your old nervous ticks and Jeno couldn’t help but think it was cute that you still did it. “Honestly, I would really like that.”

He remembered what you said at the door before letting him in. “While we’re on the subject of Jisung, why are you not talking?”

“He sent out the letters.” You licked some cookie dough off your finger after wiping it around the bowl. You handed the bowl to Jeno and he gladly accepted, repeating the action.

He looked at you, shocked. “Did you ask them about it?”

“Renjun suspected it was them so I asked. He and Chenle claimed they didn’t know what they were but they had to have gone through my stuff just to find them.”

Jeno shook his head. “I can mentor him on not snooping. It is my job to shape him to become a good leader.”

You reached over to drag your finger through the bowl once again, an elbow now perched on the bar and your chair twisted to face Jeno.

“That’s why you’re over?”

“Yeah. We got partnered up with underclassmen and we’re supposed to be their mentors for the season. It’s supposed to be a twice a week thing.”

You laughed. “That’s a lot of time dedicated to soccer.”

“I have nothing else to do so I guess I don’t mind it. Some of the guys have girlfriends though and I don’t think they’re too happy.”

“I wouldn’t be happy if I never got to see you.” You told him before your eyes widened slightly. “Theoretically, of course.”

“Well considering my mentee is your brother, you would still see me plenty. Theoretically, of course.” Where his sudden confidence came from he didn’t know but it was gone in an instant. He cleared his throat and bounced his leg aggressively before looking at the oven. “How long do those cookies take?”

You patted his shaking leg. “That eager? I promise they’re not that good.”

He wished his excitement was coming from the idea of eating cookies but he knew all of it has caused by you. You still smelled like honey and lavender and you still were as warm and welcoming as ever. If anything, his attraction to you had grown in the almost hour he had been here. You had definitely grown since middle school, your features more defined. It would be a lie to say that Jeno didn’t find you to be the prettiest girl in the school. It was hard to even entertain the idea of liking someone else when he knew you were still here. Now you were just out of reach. You were spending time with him while he waited to hang out with your brother. 

When Jisung finally arrived, you splurged and gave him two cookies while forcing Jisung to wait. The two boys made their way outside before sitting on the grass. Jeno couldn’t help but look back through the open kitchen window as you bagged the cookies and tied little bows around each sack. Your hair fell into your face, the breeze sometimes blowing it just enough to reveal the small smile on your face. When you tucked your hair behind your ear, he felt like he might explode. You were so enticing and all of it without you realizing. All he wanted to do was go back inside and talk to you some more, maybe hold your hand, but he was neglecting the person he was actually here for.

When Jeno finally turned his attention back to Jisung, the boy sat with his eyebrow raised. “I forgot you used to be friends with my sister.”

“Yeah. It’s been awhile.”

“Has she changed much?”

“Not at all.” He admitted with a small smile.

* * *

Jeno thought he was going to dread mentor days. The way they were set up seemed to drain all of his free time. However, getting to see you multiple times a week made everything worth it. You would talk about your day and Jeno would listen intently, listening to the way your voice sounded like a small melody. Sometimes, he would turn his chair just enough so that your knees were barely touching. It made his heart race every single time, but he loved the feeling. He loved feeling close to you even if you only saw him as a friend.

There would be days that Renjun would stop by just for him to turn around and leave. He complained about third wheeling when Jeno hardly felt like that was the case. The two of you talked so much because you had years of catching up to do. Maybe the tension he was picking up on was coming from Jeno being just a little too obvious about his feelings. It was possible since every day you spent together, Jeno became a little bolder. He liked hearing your laugh when you got flustered or the way you would cover your face and turn away from him. Everything about you made Jeno smile. All he wanted was to be able to openly hold your hand and take you on dates to various places so he could see your reaction to everything the world had to offer.

He couldn’t help but feel disappointed when Jisung would come in despite the fact that he now liked the kid. They had, in fact, become friends but anything that tore Jeno away from for caused some negative feelings. He thought his crush before was bad, but now that he was actually getting to talk to you again, it was undeniable that his feelings were quickly turning into something deeper.

One afternoon, Jisung had left the mentor day early to go support the dance recital at the school he volunteers at. Jeno walked back into your house to find that you were making dinner to be ready when your family got home. 

“Mind if I help?” He offered. He wasn’t the best at cooking but he had picked up a few skills from his nights home alone.

You wiped your hands off on a towel after pushing a tray into the oven. “I’m actually done, but it has to bake for about an hour before it’s ready.”

“Oh, nevermind then.” Silly of him to think that the cliche ‘cooking together’ trope could play out in his favor.

“Do you want to stay until then? I’ll make you a plate as a thank you for keeping me company.” You faltered slightly. “If you have stuff to do, then I understand.”

“Nothing could be more important than free food made by you,” Jeno said honestly. He wasn’t even teasing but the smile on his face probably made it seem like a joke. You leaned over and swung a towel at his arm. “Come on, let’s go outside. Maybe I can teach you a thing or two about soccer.”

You quickly followed suit. “One on one lessons with the soccer coach? How did I get so lucky?”

“Don’t tell anyone.” He turned to face you, extending his hand. Once you held onto his hand, he continued walking. “My time is a valuable resource and this is a privilege exclusive to my mentee’s sister.”

You laughed. “Okay, hotshot. What could you possibly teach me that I don’t already know?”

Now Jeno felt stupid. Of course, she knew how to play. Her brother was on the team and was one of the best players. “Wait, you play soccer?”

“No. I was just trying to act like I know a lot. I don’t even really understand the rules. I used to play on my phone during Jisung’s soccer games until he got on the team with you.”

He raised his eyebrow at you. “Oh, so you watch the games now suddenly because I’m there?”

“That’s not what I said.” You defended.

“It is.”

“I just meant everyone talks about how good you are so I wanted to see for myself.” You covered for yourself. It was probably the truth but he liked to think you wanted to watch because it was him.

“Sure.”

You shoved him away from you. “Leave me alone and teach me how to play.”

He walked you through the basics and practiced shooting into the goal that had been set up in your yard. Soon, you were working on dribbling and passing skills and Jeno was impressed with how much control you had over the ball in such a short time of really practicing and playing. He wanted to compliment you and give you that ego boost, but he liked the way your face lit up when you asked if you were doing alright and he praised you. He was scared that if he gave too much praise, you would stop looking for reassurance. 

Eventually, you got bold enough to run with the ball. Jeno was forced to run after you but you faltered slightly, tripping and landing on the ground. Jeno wasn’t able to stop soon enough and he landed almost on top of you. He was so close to you and yet he didn’t feel like he could do what he really wanted. He looked at your lips before back into your eyes and remembered why you were even on the ground in the first place. Brushing your hair out of your face, he looked for any sign of pain in your expression and was thankful to find none. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but you’re heavy.” You joked.

Instead of getting up, Jeno laid on you, pressing his weight onto you. “I’m sorry. Do you think I should diet?”

You laughed, squirming underneath him. “Jeno! Get off! What if I need to go take the food out of the oven?” 

Jeno got off of you. “It’s unfair to use food to win in a battle, ___.”

“I knew it was more important to you than I am.” You joked, dusting off your pants and walking back inside.

He followed behind you, defending himself as he kept up your brisk pace. “Now that’s far from the truth. You’re the one that makes the food, meaning you’re the valuable one.”

“Wow, to think all these years of friendship and the motive finally comes out.” You look over your shoulder at him, smiling. 

“Excuse me. I don’t remember you cooking in middle school.”

“No. My mom cooked for you.”

He remembered all the times after soccer when your mom would give him all these meals to eat before he went home just so that he wouldn’t have to scrounge in the kitchen if his own mom hadn’t gotten back from work yet. “She was a very good cook from what I remember.”

“I feel like my point is proven.”

The food ended up being better than your mother’s but Jeno felt as if he was biased because of his underlying affection towards the chef.

* * *

Weeks flew by and before long, the boys had reached their third game of the season. The boys rushed to throw things on get ready as their coached yelled at them from the entrance of the locker room. As Jeno walked out, he bumped into Jisung and instantly threw his arm around the taller boy. Despite all his doubts, Jisung was actually a good kid. Conversation with him wasn’t necessarily easy at first, but it wasn’t hard. He had come out of his shell rather quickly and by the end of the second day as his mentor, it was like they had always been friends.

“My sister’s out there.”

Jeno faltered for just a second before continuing to walk with the younger boy. “Okay?”

“I know you like her. It’s kind of obvious.” He laughed.

“Yeah, but I should be worrying about the game.”

“Pull out all your tricks. Try to impress her.”

“Jisung, this is a game, not a pageant.”

“We’re the two forwards. She’ll be watching us anyway.”

Jeno pushed him away as he walked towards the bench. He was able to spot his mom and coincidentally, talking to her and sitting right next to her was you. You had a blanket draped over your lap since the morning had a slight bitter breeze and you offered the other end of it to his mom which she gladly accepted. His mom had always liked you. She wasn’t too shy to tell Jeno that she wanted him to date someone like you. It had been years, but now that she was talking to you again, he couldn’t help but wonder if she felt that way still.

Jisung slapped the back of his head. “Don’t get distracted. Nakamoto will kill you if you mess up.”

Jeno waved him off, going through his warm-up lap and stretches. The other team was already on the field and they looked… aggressive. They willingly shoved their own teammates around in ways that Jeno had seen plenty of yellow cards pulled for. He could tell already that this was going to be a very messy game. 

When both teams had finally made it out onto the field, and the game started, Jeno became aware of the fact that losing this game may be better than risking a few of his players' safety. He looked at the coaches over on the sidelines and they seemed to be deep in thought as well. With a yellow card pulled in the first five minutes, this could get messy. Jeno knew it wouldn’t matter if a player or two fouled out because the bench was loaded. This was genuinely a strong team and they were willing to take the risk of playing dirty knowing they could afford to lose members. 

Jeno’s team wasn’t the same. Each of the starters was extremely valuable and losing one would hurt not only the team as a whole but the on-field dynamic would be off. When Jeno finally got possession of the ball, it almost seemed like too good of an opportunity. He had an open stretch that he could easily dribble through if his offense kept the defense occupied. It was a straight shot for the goal and he took it, weaving through a few of the players. 

He was almost able to make his shot, noticing the goalies stance when he was pushed over from his right side. A massive forced launched itself into him and before he could even try to comprehend what was happening, he was sliding across the grass. He landed on his right arm in a way that was far from comfortable and he couldn’t help but grab at it, rolling side to side to ignore the pain that was shooting through his arm.

It wasn’t broken and he knew that but it was probably the worst pain he’s been in since starting soccer. 

Jeno saw the referee pull a red card before Coach Nakamoto blocked his view, leaning down to check his arm. “I’m pulling our starters at the half. I’m not risking anyone getting hurt.”

Jeno nodded. “I don’t want any of the bench to get hurt either.”

“They won’t take the risks you guys take. They’ll be fine. Felix is doing a good job of blocking their shots so we may be able to win just off free kicks.”

Jeno nodded, sitting up. “I think I’m okay. Let me take my shot.”

“You’re done after that, understand?”

Jeno stood up, walking over to where everyone seemed to be huddled around the goal. He took his position readying himself for the direct free kick. It would be his chance to get a score on the board for his team and give Felix a little bit of leeway. The goalie seemed to be unsure of which direction to head. It was hard to block a direct free kick, especially against a forward. Jeno noticed the way he was inching towards the left side, probably because of Jeno’s current stance but he was quicker than that. Jeno shot the ball into the top right corner, making it near impossible to block. As soon as the ball entered the net, another player got sent out to relieve him. 

As he walked back to the bench, he looked in the stands to find you watching him with your brows furrowed. You mouthed a quick “are you okay” and Jeno nodded, giving you a thumbs up. You seemed to be at least somewhat satisfied but that answer with the way your shoulders relaxed and you leaned back against the stands. Your brows were still knit together and a small frown still graced your lips but Jeno thought it was cute. Your little pout made him smile and he did his best to hide it by sitting on the bench and turning away from you. 

The rest of the game went similarly. Jeno’s team ended up with a total of three free kicks and the opposing team only made two goals. It was a relief to win but Jeno knew that they would have to play them again at some point and all he hopes was that they cleaned up their act by then. The only positive of the game was seeing you concerned over his well being.

* * *

When the next mentor day rolled around, Jeno drove straight to your house without a second thought. You pulled into the driveway at the same time that he parked on your curb. Smiling at him as he walked up, you reached for his arm and Jeno couldn’t help but laugh in response. You lifted up his sleeve and examined the bruise starting to form on his arm before letting out a sigh. “Those guys sucked.”

“I know.” He acknowledged. He had never played a team who was so willing to be so dirty in their tactics.

Your eyes traced over the bruise. Greens, blues, and purpled bloomed over his skin from where he landed. “You said you were okay, but that looks pretty bad.”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” He admitted. He was definitely sore the rest of the day and even the day after but now he was good as new and didn’t even remember it was there.

“You shouldn’t have been hurt at all.” You mumbled, walking towards your front door. Jeno followed behind you. “You’re cute when you’re angry.”

“Am not!” You turned to face him.

He couldn’t help but smile at the determined look on your face. “You’re right. I’m terrified right now.”

You groaned. “Leave me alone.”

“Just accept my compliment.” He countered

“That I’m cute when I’m angry? I don’t know if I take that as a compliment.”Huffing, you turned back towards the door, fumbling with your keys.

“Okay. Let me rephrase it. You’re cute  _ all the time  _ but you’re especially cute when you’re angry.”

The jingling of metal stopped as you turned and looked at him for a few seconds before a smirk found your lips. “Lee Jeno, are you hitting on me.”

“I’ve been trying to for the last six years but I think this may be the first time I’ve succeeded.” He admitted.

Your eyes widened. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“Because when we were in middle school I didn’t think you had any interest in me. Then when we got to high school, we didn’t exactly talk anymore.”

You grabbed his hand. “I missed you. I would always hope that somehow we’d have a class together and we’d be able to hang out again.”

“You could have texted me.” He told you. If he knew you missed him, he would have made more of an effort to see you.

“I could say the same to you.”

“I was dumb. I know that.” He admitted and his breath hitched as you stepped closer to him.

“What if the next time you come over, we go grab food instead of just waiting around for my little brother to show up.” Your dumb rubbed circles on the back of his hand and he never thought he would feel the way he does right now with his heart pounding in his chest.

“___, are you asking me on a date?” He asked, the corners of his lips turning up.

“It only took six years, but I think I am.”

In a moment of confidence, he closed the distance between the two of you, pressing his lips to your momentarily. You broke away, looking at him momentarily and he laughed. “Nope. I waited six years for this. Come back here.” He pulled you back to him, hands finding your chin and tilting it up towards him. He kissed you once again, this time much longer and deeper than before and he felt like finally, he was where he belonged.

Maybe Jaemin was right. Maybe, his feelings never faded because they weren’t supposed to. With you now in his arms, he believed that those words were true.   


**Author's Note:**

> i know nothing about soccer so sorry for any inaccuracies


End file.
